Square One: Returning to Life and Competitive Running after My Devastating Stroke - Hardcover

Vlieks, Dirk

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1510721002 ISBN 13: 9781510721005

Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing, 2017

Synopsis

Dirk Vlieks was at the top of his game. At the age of thirty-two he was a top-ranked triathlete with numerous Ironman finishes under his belt. That all changed in an instant one day in June of 2006 when he stepped groggily from his bike in Honu, Hawaii, and collapsed. He had suffered a stroke so devastating that by the time he reached the hospital, a doctor told his wife to prepare to turn off the machines keeping him alive. Vlieks spent the next two months in intensive care before he was strong enough to begin a rehabilitation program that included learning to speak, talk, eat, and walk again. His first weaving assisted walks turned later to slow jogs, then short runs. Five years later, he returned to Hawaii to finish the race in which he nearly died. He would then run the New York City Marathon. In Square One: Returning to Life and Competitive Running After My Devastating Stroke, Vlieks shares his inspirational story about persevering against all odds. It has not been a smooth ride, and he continues to work—and run and inspire. His mission now is to help energize and motivate others to live their lives with determination and joy.

About this title

About the Author

Amby Burfoot won the Boston Marathon in 1968 and joined Runner's World ten years later. He became executive editor in 1985, and he held the position for twenty years before retiring in 2013. Amby has run 110,000 miles in his lifetime and owns the US's longest active "race road streak," having completed the Thanksgiving Day 5-mile run in Manchester, Connecticut, fifty-five years in a row. Currently a writer at-large for Runner's World, he has been honored by numerous running organizations both as an athlete and as a writer. Now in his early seventies, he continues running up to thirty miles a week.

Edition details

• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1510721002
• ISBN 13: 9781510721005
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208